HR Business Partner - Employee Relations

Robert Half is partnering with an established UK organisation to recruit an experienced HR Business Partner specialising in Employee Relations.

This is an exciting opportunity for a commercially focused HR professional to manage complex employee relations matters, influence management decisions and drive improvements across the HR function. The role offers a blend of hands-on case management, strategic business partnering, stakeholder engagement and continuous improvement.

Location: Oxfordshire, with travel to other sites and 1-2 days working from home
Hours: 37.5 per week

The Role

Working closely with the Head of HR and operational managers, you will provide expert advice on complex employee relations matters while strengthening HR policies, processes and management capability.

You will manage sensitive workplace issues, minimise employment risks and ensure decisions are fair, consistent and compliant with UK employment legislation. You will also support employee consultation, organisational change and the development of effective people management practices across multiple locations.

Key Responsibilities

Employee Relations and Case Management

• Manage complex disciplinary, grievance, capability, conduct, performance and absence cases from initial advice through to resolution.
• Lead and support investigations, ensuring evidence is gathered objectively and recommendations are balanced.
• Advise managers on formal meetings, hearings, appeals and appropriate outcomes.
• Provide guidance on long-term absence, occupational health, reasonable adjustments, flexible working and contractual changes.
• Ensure compliance with employment legislation, internal policies and ACAS guidance.
• Identify potential risks and encourage early intervention.

Trade Union and Stakeholder Relations

• Develop positive working relationships with recognised trade unions and employee representatives.
• Support consultation processes and employee relations discussions.
• Advise on collective agreements and workplace arrangements.
• Help resolve collective grievances and disputes through constructive engagement.
• Identify recurring concerns and recommend improvements.

HR Policy and Continuous Improvement

• Review and develop HR policies, procedures and case management processes.
• Promote consistent people management standards.
• Analyse employee relations trends and identify opportunities for preventative action.
• Maintain accurate records and reporting.
• Support organisational change, restructuring and wider HR projects.
• Work with senior HR colleagues to improve HR service delivery.

Business Partnering and Team Development

• Build trusted relationships with operational managers, providing practical and commercially focused advice.
• Understand the impact of people decisions on workforce availability, service delivery and business performance.
• Provide HR support across multiple sites.
• Coach managers to handle employee issues confidently and consistently.
• Support the development of HR colleagues through coaching and knowledge-sharing.
• Oversee day-to-day HR activity and deputise for senior HR leadership when required.
• Work collaboratively across recruitment, engagement and wellbeing.

About You

You will be an experienced HR professional with a strong employee relations background and the confidence to manage sensitive and complex situations independently.

You will be commercially aware, proactive and comfortable challenging established practices while balancing employee fairness with organisational priorities.

Ideally, you will have:

• Experience within a complex, operational or multi-site organisation.
• CIPD Level 5 qualification or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law and employee relations best practice.
• Proven experience managing investigations, disciplinary and grievance procedures, capability and absence cases.
• Excellent judgement and the ability to interpret policies and assess evidence.
• Strong communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience improving processes, managing risk and developing management capability.
• The resilience to manage competing priorities with professionalism, confidentiality and attention to detail.

The Opportunity

This is an excellent opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to employee relations standards, management capability and the overall effectiveness of a wider HR function.

If you are an experienced HR professional looking for a varied role combining complex case management, business partnering and continuous improvement, Robert Half would welcome your application.

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